Flora

Plant life in Northern California wastes no time. By February the monotone meadows of winter begin a chromatic crescendo that lasts well into summer. From the miniature marvels of lichens and mosses to things that live large – stratospheric redwoods and billowing oaks – this gallery celebrates all that grasps the ground and reaches for the sky.

The inner sanctum of our state flower, the California orange poppy. North Peak, Mt. Diablo State Park.

California buckeyes on a misty winter evening, Round Valley.

Round Valley buckeyes in full bloom at sunrise.

A forest fire of moss sporangia sweeps across a boulder in Round Valley Regional Preserve.

A blue oak braces for a winter storm on the summit of Round Valley Regional Preserve.

Owl's clover spatters Round Valley's Clover Ridge.

Blue oak in autumn, Round Valley.

Rose clover, Round Valley.

Fruiting bodies of chaparral clematis, Blackpoint Trail, Mt. Diablo.

Baby blue-eyes with violet variant, North Peak, Mt. Diablo.

Late-winter black oaks in Donner Canyon, Mt. Diablo.

California buttercup, Round Valley.

The Monterey cypress known as Old Veteran. Point Lobos State Reserve.

Yellow mariposa lily, Marsh Creek State Park.

Coast live oak, Mt. Tamalpais State Park.

Miniature lupine, Round Valley.

California buckeye in November, Coyote Ridge, Round Valley.

Round Valley buckeye blossoms in spring.

The California coast redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument tower up to 370 feet above the forest floor; their diameter can span 22 feet and their bark can measure a foot thick. Most of them are between 500 and 800 years old; some have lived for 2,000 years.